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5 Tips to Create A Truly Powerful Brand on Social Media

Author: Melanie Fawcett,
Producer on Purpose

Melanie Fawcett is the Founder and Head of Storytelling at Producer on Purpose, an educational hub and movement of mindful storytellers with a focus on empowering people and brands to share stories that matter. Mel writes and talks a lot, whether that be through video, digital content, old-fashioned books, speaking or teaching workshops that focus on forward thinking marketing meets mindful self development. Her first book #popphilosophy will be out in 2016.

5 Tips to Create A Truly Powerful Brand on Social Media {prepare to take the red pill and enter the Matrix}

Forget what you thought you knew about creating a truly powerful brand on social media.

We are going to spin any outdated ideas you might have on their perfect, selfies-with-a-green-juice-head, questioning – what a powerful brand even is.

Yup. You heard right. If you are madly running around trying to build your tribe across a zillion platforms, checking your engagement with bug eyes at 2.43am {and you know you do} then never fear, we have the Hibsicus-coconut-water -flavoured antidote to your Insta-exhaustion!

Her name is Zoë Weldon from Seekerloverdreamer and she knows exactly what truly makes a powerful brand on social media. Warning: bombshell about to drop….

BIG NUMBERS DON’T MEAN SQUAT.

{Say whaaaat! Stop your cussin’ Nope, its really true, but don’t worry, Zoë has your back on what to believe now we swallowed the red pill}.

In addition to writing Australia’s first Social Media Higher Education Program, Zoë is a leading brand strategy expert who advises everyone from Lululemon to Apple, turning to her for advice in how to humanize their content on social media.

When it comes to creating a personalized, human brand on social media, Zoë knows exactly how to balance who you are as a person and create a social media voice that allows other real people to connect with the real you. YES. PLEASE.

What MUST startups know before building a social media tribe around their brand?

Trust is EVERYTHING. The right time to build a tribe for your brand is NOW, not in 6 months time when you launch! I see it so often that people rush to monetise their products and services, before they have built trust and relationships with people that love what they stand for. The connection you create with your followers is based on you documenting your life. Take that into business and this is exactly the leverage we have been looking for. But we MUST be honest, always. Being authentic matters.

What is the number 1 trend on social media that you see continuing?

Storytelling. It will only continue to be bigger and more important in brands connecting with our tribes and our audiences. We are telling stories through imagery and video and now we are seeing how platforms see this as valuable too, for example where Instagram has reinvigorated what was already a super popular platform and made it even better, so now we are getting the opportunity to jump straight into people’s lives through tools like Instagram Stories.

How important are big numbers for brands on social media?

Smart brands are starting to understand the true power of engagement versus likes. If you have 10,000 fans that never talk to you, then the chances of them buying something from you are very low, it is far better for brands to have 100 fans with 50 who actually engage with you. A lower amount of followers who are highly engaged = a far better position for your brand. The smarter bigger brands are starting to understand this too.

What are the essential skills we need to create beautiful and engaging content?

Taking photos

Art of flatlays

Image/caption/copywriting skills {write like you have a relationship with your followers}

Engagement {social media gives you access to ANYONE you want to talk to, treat everyone like a VIP}

Make it FUN, make it CHEEKY – respond to people, don’t be boring or “business-like” – be real, be YOU, it shows the humanness of who you are

You take a photo of a beach – but what is the story of what’s happening? We want the beautiful imagery, but we also want to know your interpretation of what we see, tell us a story….

Video, imagery + storytelling combined = the age of opportunity! Get on it!

What advice do you have for people who don’t yet feel comfortable sharing themselves on their brand’s social media? How can we humanise our content and still be ourselves?

Be exactly who you are in real life. Vulnerability looks different for everybody! Do not feel like you need to bare all, in order for your brand to be what it needs to be. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, DON’T DO IT. Its totally ok. Think soft and familiar versus stale and business-ey. You could tell a story about why you developed a product, it doesn’t have to be too personal…it is up to you! Humanising your brand, all that means is taking it away from the clinical, maybe you take it in steps, you could add your hand into a photo for example, holding one of your products.

Invest your time, at every touchpoint, to connect with and build your tribe.

The Power of CommunityWe’ve seen it time and time again; Community, or lack of, can make or break an organisation in it’s idea or startup phase.
We all HAVE a community already without really knowing it, […]